Scientific Process
by erskine exposed
Summary: Sakura is upset that her team still sees her as a weak child. So she resolves to change their opinion through any means necessary.


**So, this is my first story in a while, and it's pretty different from what I've written before. This is the first time I've written Sakura, and I hope I've done her justice. Please don't flame if you dislike the character, just move on to the next story.**

**The title doesn't really make sense until the end, and it's only mentioned, so don't expect a bunch of scientific jabber in this.**

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Sakura wearily stumbled her way up the street, to the small apartment complex she lived in

Sakura wearily stumbled her way up the street, to the small apartment complex she lived in. Rather than taking time to unlock her door, she leapt for the window she always kept open. Why bother closing it when a determined ninja could break in without even batting an eyelash?

As she landed on her bedroom floor, she winced slightly at the exertion it had taken. Winding her fingers under her shin guards, she massaged the cramping muscle. _This is nothing compared to what the rest of the team has to deal with, _she thought almost bitterly.

It was true. What had started out as a simple escort mission—_Overkill to send Team 7_, Sakura thought—soon evolved into much more—_These kinds of missions always do_. Their original mission had gone off without a hitch. It turned out the merchant that hired them was nothing more than a paranoid fool. After dropping him off in River Country, her team had turned right around, thinking that it would be a leisurely trip back.

Unfortunately, this was not the case, and Team 7 was forced into the defensive to ward off the attacks of a gang of roaming shinobi. Even more unfortunately, it seemed that these ninja had actually been trained moderately well. Two had been trained in kenjutsu, and wielded their blades with deadly accuracy. Three more knew basic Suiton jutsus, and the five remaining knew an obscure style of taijutsu.

Now, this was not to say that they were a good match-up for Team 7, but the surprise attack, coupled with the fact that the fight was two to one made things difficult. _Well, the fight _should_ have been two to one_, Sakura thought as she began moving around the room and readying for bed.

As it happened, Sakura had been relegated to protecting, well nothing. They had already dropped the merchant off, and there was no money or scroll to guard. In truth, she was left in the background, as she was in most missions.

Her dresser drawer slammed shut, her chakra-enhanced shove cracking its smooth finish. She had long ago proven herself an able kunoi—no, shinobi, and still she was treated like a wide-eyed girl. Tsunade, the legendary Sannin, and present Hokage had personally trained her for years. And yet, she was still relegated to the position as team healer and backup.

When she had tried to enter the fray, Naruto had jumped in front of her and engaged her target. He'd turned around and said, "Sakura-chan, you better stay with our employer. I don't want you getting hurt."

Before she could yell, saying their employer wasn't with them anymore, Kakashi landed lithely in front of her, saying that she couldn't afford to be hurt, and gently pushing her back. Sakura seethed in the background, as she watched her teammates get pushed around.

Yamato's Mokuton was proving an obstacle for the taijutsu specialists, and Naruto's shadow clones could have wreaked havoc on the sword users. But, the water-nin produced their own clones, who had a slightly better sense of self-preservation than Naruto's, and the field was evened once again. Kakashi, who probably could have ended it all with one devastating jutsu, remained locked in one-on-one battle with the apparent leader, a very fast man who employed the strangest style of hand-to-hand that Sakura had ever seen. Sai, meanwhile, was adding the finishing strokes to his scroll, and immediately a life-size tiger prowled out.

Really, it was only a matter of time before the team finished the rogues off, but Sakura knew it would have seemed much faster if she had been in on the action. It was moments like these that Sakura was forced to remember the uninspiring beginning of her ninja career. She felt just like her twelve year old self on Tazuna's bridge, forced to watch her team fight because she couldn't. All she could do was hope that this battle had less devastating consequences.

Her wish was fulfilled when the fighting ground to a stop. Luckily none of the team had been severely injured; at least it was nothing she couldn't deal with. Yamato's abilities had protected him from the brunt of the attacks, so he was thankfully unharmed. Kakashi had suffered several bruises and scrapes from his altercation with the leader, but Sakura almost wanted to ignore those as punishment for pushing her out of the fray. She had learned early on in their acquaintance that Naruto would only need healing for the most dire of injuries, and while Sakura sometimes wondered if his idiocy had come about as a result of a brutal blow to the head, she saw nothing that needed immediate healing. No, it was Sai this time that had received the most wounds. On his leg, there was long gash that had been inflicted by one of the enemy's swords. There was also a purple bruise that was rapidly blooming across his exposed midsection.

Kakashi had been inspecting the former ROOT member's lacerations before he turned to Sakura. He raised a brow, as if asking, "Why aren't you fulfilling your duty to the team?" Repressing the urge to scream, the sole kunoichi stalked over to the dark haired boy. She was forced to rationalize; she could be forced to heal Naruto, who, because of his unfamiliarity with healings was apt to whine like a four year old. But, if Sai made one "ugly" comment, she would knock him from here to Konoha, where other medic-nin could take care of him.

Mercifully, he remained silent as she healed the cut on his leg, and checked his stomach for internal bleeding. When she cleared him to begin traveling again, Kakashi nodded silently, and Yamato gave her an almost comforting pat on the shoulder. Sai moved off with his easy grace, and Sakura was left in the dust. With Naruto.

Her temples still throbbed from listening to the blonde's incessant chatter. "Sakura-chan, did you see me take out that ninja? It was totally awesome!" She could only hope that a splash of cold water and a short chakra massage would allow her to fall asleep.

After washing her face, Sakura stared long and hard into her mirror. She searched, and still, she couldn't see why they hadn't seen her change over the years. Her hair was still short, and pink, that would never change. But, her face was proportionate now, and her forehead was not quite so large. Her physical growth was not the only thing that had changed over the years, though.

She was no longer the pitiable genin who spent more time stalking her teammate than training. She was a kunoichi who was strong enough to train under the Godaime Hokage. She could crumble walls with a single strike. She was training beside the strongest ninja of her generation. She had changed. Why hadn't her team?

As she got into bed, Sakura thought over the other Konoha teams. Each had a special place in their formation for their kunoichi, just as Sakura had on Team 7. However, the other girls were on the team as an equal, not just back up. Hinata's Byakugan was the first line of defense on Team 8, and her Jyuuken was progressing quickly, making her into a killing machine. Tenten was both respected and feared on her team, her expansive knowledge of weapons allowing her to attack from both near and far. Even Ino-pig was instrumental in her team. The Ino-Shika-Cho combination would be useless without her mind-swapping technique. All Sakura got to do on her team was heal her inept teammates once all the fighting was over.

_What can I do to make them understand?_ Sakura wondered. Again, she thought about the other teams, and came to one conclusion. The other teams were scared of their kunoichi. She wasn't sure where this came from, let alone how it would work. _Hinata could never scare her teammates, could she?_ But, for both Ino and Tenten, her theory seemed to fit. Hell, even Tsunade-sama had instilled a healthy dose of fear into Jiraiya.

So, being the intelligent woman she was, Sakura realized there was only one way to prove or disprove her theory. She needed to test it.

_Oh, training is going to be _fun_ tomorrow!_

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**So, I hope you liked it, reviews and concrit appreciated, thanks!**

**katieoso**


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